[Edaily Marketin Hur Jieun Reporter] OneStore, once the pride of Korea’s homegrown app markets, has finally been sold to a blockchain game company. The sale price is in the 600억 won range. OneStore, which launched ambitiously 10 years ago to compete against Google and Apple, grew through investment but became a thorn in SK Group’s side after facing difficulties with both its IPO and sale. Its valuation, which once held out hope for a 1 trillion won corporate value and a spectacular initial public offering (IPO), has shrunk to less than one-tenth of that amount.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 20th, blockchain game company Action Square Co., Ltd.(205500)announced on the 18th that it would acquire One Store. The sale covers an 89.03% stake (20,247,990 shares) held by major shareholders, including SKSQUARE (45.78%), Naver (24.06%), Steel Number One First (17.02%), and KRAFTON (2.17%). The sale price is 62,627,030,000 won, and the scheduled transfer date is the 29th.
The Birth of a Rival to Google and Apple… A Glorious Heyday
One Store began in 2009 as SKTelecom’s T Store division and was launched in June 2016 following a merger with the app stores of the three major telecom carriers. The current One Store was created through the merger of app markets—including T Store (SKTelecom), Olleh Market (KTCorporation), and U+ Store (LG Uplus)—which had previously operated separately under their respective telecom carriers, along with the Naver App Store. At the time, it garnered attention as a joint effort by major domestic companies to challenge the duopoly of the two global giants: the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
In its early days, it received favorable reviews for its bold policy of reducing commission rates. While the commission rates for existing Google and Apple app stores were around 30%, One Store offered a 20% rate and applied a 5% rate for developers using its proprietary payment system, thereby working to attract developers and users. In 2017, it launched One Store Books to diversify its business into web novels, webtoons, and e-books. In 2020, it succeeded in turning a net profit for the first time since its launch.
It also continued to attract investment. In 2019, Kiwoom Investment and private equity funds affiliated with SKSecurities invested 100 billion won; in 2021, KTCorporation and LG Uplus (26 billion won), along with Microsoft (MS) and Deutsche Telekom (DTCP) (15 million dollars(approximately 16.8 billion won), △in 2023, KRAFTON (20 billion won), and △in 2024, Digital Turbine (50 million dollars, approximately 66 billion won).
In 2022, at the peak of its growth, One Store began actively pursuing a listing on the KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index). At the time, the lead underwriters—NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES and KB Securities—and One Store proposed a target offering price range of 34,300 to 41,700 won, with an expected market capitalization of 1.1111 trillion won based on the upper end of the offering price range. However, by prominently citing global Big Tech companies such as Alphabet and Apple as comparables, OneStore faced controversy over being overvalued.
To make matters worse, a stock market downturn caused by deteriorating macroeconomic conditions coincided with the IPO, resulting in a disastrous outcome during the bookbuilding process with institutional investors. Although former CEO Lee Jae-hwan, who was leading the company at the time, held a press conference to reaffirm his commitment by stating, “There will be no withdrawal,” OneStore ultimately decided to abruptly withdraw its IPO. Its ambitious plan to raise massive funds through an IPO and expand into the global market began to unravel at this point.
The protracted saga of a failed exit… Reduced to long-term dead weight
The failed IPO dealt a fatal blow to OneStore. Financial investors (FIs), who had initially bet on an exit (return on investment) through the IPO, found themselves in a situation where their funds were tied up for an extended period. As the deadline for exercising the put options (right to sell shares) specified in the contract approached, the pressure on the largest shareholder, SKSQUARE(402340), to return funds grew increasingly intense.
Subsequently, OneStore sought a comeback by successfully securing additional investment through a pre-IPO round in 2023, on the condition that it complete its IPO by May 2028. However, unable to break through the formidable barriers posed by Google and Apple, its domestic market share stagnated at around 10%. Compounded by a failure to attract major game titles and deteriorating financial performance, the company faced deepening internal and external challenges. The investment banking industry classified One Store as a prime long-term holding, fueling concerns.
The 62.6 billion won sale price for NEXUS represents a dismal outcome compared to its previous target valuation, which had exceeded 1 trillion won. In particular, observers point out that the structure of this deal falls far short of a complete return on investment. To finance the acquisition of OneStore, NEXUS is raising 39.5 billion won through a rights offering, with existing OneStore shareholders—including SKSQUARE, Naver, and KRAFTON—participating in the offering.
An investment banking (IB) industry insider explained, “It’s difficult to view the OneStore deal as a clean exit that fully recoups the cash,” adding, “The selling shareholders have opted for a stopgap measure—mixing their stakes into a new blockchain-based venture to pursue long-term returns.”
